Heart to Heart

At Home with Julie

For reasons unbeknownst to me, this meal makes me want to use adjective phrases like bomb-diggity or off the chain.  I'll spare you the lingo and do my best to use adjectives appropriate for a person my age.  But let it be known that 'bomb-diggity' is scrolling through my head like a CNN ticker at the thought of this meal.

Meet Julie and her massive chalkboard:

Julie, kindly agreed to make for me the fish tacos I've been asking her about for so long.

There are really several recipes that make up this meal so I'll break it down and start with Julie's easy guacamole.  My husband would prefer to have a hot stick in the eye than taste a raw onion in anything he eats so this smooth guacamole would suit him fine.

There are few ingredients, but the seasoning packet is so full of flavor (bought at HEB).

Just mix all of the above ingredients. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to serve with chips alongside your fish tacos.

Next, Julie made for me her AWESOME fish sauce.  You'll need a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, a small tub of sour cream, and a lime.  Empty the sour cream in a bowl.  Dice up 2 chipotle peppers (more if you like it extra spicy) and add them to the sour cream and mix.

Julie likes to use her spoon to strain out some of the adobo sauce and add it to the mixture.

Squeeze in a lime, mix, cover and set aside.

Next you'll want to chop up your toppings.  Cilantro and cabbage are perfect for fish tacos.  Have on hand your favorite hot sauce.

Next you'll prepare the fish.  For this recipe Julie used tilapia.

Spray a baking sheet with Pam and lay your fish on top.

Coarse chop some fresh parsley.

To season the fish you'll do the following on both sides of the fillets.

1.  pour olive oil over each fillet and rub it in.

2.  season with salt and pepper 

Then, top with parsley, lemon juice, and a pat of butter.

You will bake your fish in the oven at 375 for 8-10 minutes or until white and flaky.

Julie also fixed shrimp.  I can really appreciate the way the shrimp and fish are prepared so simply.  The trimmings are so flavorful that there is no need to go overboard when seasoning the seafood.

For the shrimp, Julie rinses the peeled and deveined shrimp, prepares a skillet with olive oil and butter and gets it good and hot.  In the pan she seasons with salt, pepper, and lemon juice.  You'll sautee the shrimp until they're pink and no longer translucent.

When the fish and shrimp were ready she brought it all to the table so that we could build our own tacos.  I have to tell you about the corn tortillas she bought at HEB.  They are the closest thing I've tasted to homemade.  They were delicious and thick.

 
 

We made our tacos complete with Julie's special chipotle sauce and on the side had a heapin' helpin' of guacamole and tortilla chips.  My mouth is still watering.

This meal was the bee's knees.  For sure. 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 

At Home: Farmhouse Breakfast Casserole

This, Folks, is our favorite breakfast hands down.  We make it at Christmas and maybe one other time a year.  It's a simple casserole with simple ingredients, but the prep is a little tedious and you use a lot of pots so I save it for special occasions like Christmas.

It's a crowd pleaser.  It's a man-pleaser if your man is cowboy, country boy, Southern boy, momma's boy, hearty boy, or just plain hungry boy. If your man is neither of the aforementioned, then you and I feed different kinds of men and so you may try googling a recipe for eggs benedict or something finer than boiled eggs and bacon with cheese. 

I'll post the ingredients at the bottom of the recipe so don't fret and let me just walk you through the process.

You'll need a dozen boiled eggs sliced.

You'll need a package of bacon, fried and coursely chopped.

You'll need to dice 2 large russet potatoes and boil for 15 minutes or until the chunks are tender.  Drain.

For the cheese sauce, you'll start by making a roux, which is nothing more than a thickening agent usually consisting of flour and a fat.  In this case we're mixing the butter and flour.  In a large pot, mix together the flour and butter and cook for a minute or so on medium heat while stirring the mixture to keep it smooth.  A whisk makes it easier for me. 

Add the milk and half and half to the mixture and use the whisk to work out the lumps over the heat.  Stir this together until the liquid is thicker and starts to bubble.  Add pepper if desired and mix it in.

Add in the 4 cups of shredded cheese.  I don't use seasoning other than the pepper because the sharp cheddar is flavorful enough, but you can doctor this up however you'd like.

Mix quickly until the cheese is melted and well-incorporated and remove it from the heat.

Now, it's easy.  Grease a 9x13 pan and layer half of the egg slices and half of the bacon on the bottom.

Next pour 1/2 of the cheese sauce on top.  The cheese sauce will be really thick and goopy.  It's not easy to spread so you may try letting it ribbon out of the pot.  It's okay if it's not evenly spread.

Spread all of the potatoes on top.

Next, layer the rest of the egg slices and bacon.

And top with the rest of the cheese sauce.

Now for the bread topping.  Cut 3 slices of bread into cubes like so...

In another saucepan, melt 2 Tbsp of butter.  Once melted, mix in the bread cubes and spread the cubes on top of the casserole.

The final step is to bake it.  If you're going to serve it the following day for breakfast then cover and chill overnight.  That morning, let it stand at room temp for 30 minutes before baking at 350 for 30 minutes.

We love eating this with our favorite Guerrero flour tortillas that you cook yourself.  They are like eating my mother's homemade tortillas.  They're rolled, but not yet cooked.  You just throw them into a hot skillet to cook them and you will love how fresh and homemade they taste.

Here's what I like to do when I make this breakfast:

Day 1:  In the morning, I boil, peel and slice the eggs.  I cook the bacon and prepare the potatoes

In the evening, I make the cheese sauce and layer it up.  I cover it and refrigerate it for the next morning.

Day 2:  I bake it and we eat!

I've found it's too much work to do it all in one day.

Ingredients:

1 dozen large, boiled eggs, sliced
1 package of bacon, cooked and coarsely chopped
2 russet potatoes, cubed and boiled
1/4 cup of margarine
1/4 cup of flour
1 cup milk
1 cup half and half
4 cups of Sharp Cheddar
Pepper to taste

Croutons:
3 slices of bread, cubed
2 Tbsp melted margarine or butter

At home with Kristie

You know that show on TV where all of the great magician tricks are unveiled?  This post kind of reminds me of that.  Kristie invited me into her beautiful, new, clean, clutter-free home and how could I refuse the invitation to come over and chit chat and feast on crab? I had to go.  I took one for the team.  It was all in the name of business. 

The magician kindly revealed her secret.  She made something seemingly fancy and complicated so, so easy.  And, it isn't so hard to fork over a few extra bucks on something  a little more frivolous than say....pork chops....when the rest of your ingredients are simple and basic.

The hostess with the mostest...

Ingredients for the crab

Isn't this a beautiful set up?

4 cooked - 1 - 1 1/2 lb Dungeness crabs. You can use another kind of crab if you would like.

8 T (1 stick) butter

4 T extra virgin olive oil

5 garlic cloves, minced

2 T grated lemon zest

Salt & pepper to taste

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 2-3 lemons)

3 T chopped parsley

Preheat your oven to 500 degrees.

Start by zesting your lemon.



Next,  mince your garlic cloves

You'll also need some chopped parsley

In an oven proof skillet, combine the butter and the above ingredients on medium-high heat until it is hot hot hot.

Add the crab and salt and pepper to taste.  Mix the crab so that it gets coated with the butter mixture.

Transfer the entire skillet to the oven and roast until the crab has heated through and the garlic is a golden brown color (about 5 to 7 minutes).

This might be my favorite part, the culmination, the hallelujah chorus.  Kristie poured the lemon juice over the crab and poured it all onto a serving platter. Last, drizzle with parsley.

Hallelujah.

God, bless this crab. And Amen.

Now for a little added filler, Kristie made these easy roasted potatoes.

These are so rustic and so good!

red potatoes
fresh parsley
olive oil
kosher salt

start by quartering your red potatoes into bite-size chunks

Drizzle your sheet pan with some olive oil and toss the potatoes so that they're coated well.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Roast in the oven.

When you pull the potatoes out you can sprinkle fresh parsley on top.

This would not have been complete without the bread to mop up the juice from the bottom of the crab platter.

Slice up some crusty bread and toast it in the oven.

For a hint of garlic flavor, rub a peeled clove of garlic over each piece.

I'll let the picture speak for itself.

This dessert...

is a story for another time. 

FYI...I called the Atascocita HEB and their crab is 7.99/lb.  So for 20 to 25 bucks, you've got yourself a decent meal, I'd say.

Tomorrow's Menu...

At Home: Faux Key Lime Pie

I posted this recipe last summer before my At Home series, but wanted to post it this summer with pictures.

Recently, an old buddy sent me home with a divine slice of key lime pie.  I've never really cared to try it, but since that fateful day I've decided to claim it as my favorite dessert.  Until, that is, I purchase my next Strawberry Cheesecake Blizzard.  Haven't tried it?  Don't bother.  It will simply suck you into the vortex of must-have-one-every-day. 

Now, since I'm due for a beach trip in August, I've had to lay off the super sweets and settle for the faux sweets and this baby does the trick.

Just a few simple ingredients, 5 minutes of your day, and you're set.

1 small box of lime sugar-free Jello
1/4 cup of boiling hot water vs. boiling cold water
2 Light Key Lime yogurt containers
1 tub of Cool Whip or Dessert Topping :)
1 ready-made Graham Cracker crust

Dissolve the Jello in the boiling water like so...

I didn't stir fast enough so you'll see that the Jello didn't dissolve completely, but I can handle that.

Stir in the 2 yogurt containers

Fold in the whipped topping

Pour it all into the pie crust and refrigerate several hours before cutting.  I've made this in different flavors and it's good in every one.

Would you excuse my absence for a week?  I hope so.  I'll be making time for fun, friends, antiquing and other activities to refresh my creative spirit.  I'll be back on Monday  the 20th with a blog post a day. 

At Home with Shanna

First, I've got 6 shoots booked in the next 2 weeks.  I can squeeze one more in Friday, June 26th in the morning or late afternoon if anyone is interested in that day.  Otherwise, I'm now booking for July.  I'm also going to take a limited amount of appts in August.  It is soooo hot and soooo mosquitoey and soooo uncomfortable in August.  I may just book evening shoots in August if I feel like a lot of people are really set on a shoot during that month.

To the goods...

You guys recognize Shanna, don't you? 

She has amazing Christmas decorations and it turns out that she also has an amazing crockpot.  It's a good thing she puts that crockpot to good use or I might've called her frivolous.  Actually, she's the crockpot queen in my facebook circles.  She cooks out of her crockpot several nights a week and she's almost smug about it.  Oh, Vivi, it's the easiest thing and my family just loves what I make.  Rather than allowing Shanna to forge on in her domestic superiority I decided to invite her to the blog.  And since she accepted my invitation to share a few of her secrets, I won't call her frivolous or smug.  I'll call her the Crockpot Queen.  How you like them apples?

Recipe Numero Uno:

Sunday Crockpot Chicken

4 to 5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into cubes
poultry seasoning
sliced American cheese

2 cans cream of celery
3/4 cup of sour cream

1 box of chicken stuffing (use low sodium if you can find it)
1 stick of butter, melted.

First, you cut your chicken into cubes.  I learned that my granite countertops are beautiful AND functional.  From now on I'll be hacking up my poultry on the countertop.  And, disinfecting with Clorox, of course.

the chicken cubes will go into the crockpot first

sprinkle with some of the poultry seasoning

layer the sliced cheese on top of the chicken

next, you'll mix up the 2 cans of cream of celery and the sour cream in a bowl

layer the mixture on top of the cheese

sprinkle the dry stuffing on top of the mixture

drizzle the melted butter on top

Cook this on low 4 to 6 hours, but be careful not to overcook so you don't dry out your chicken.

Shanna sent this crockpot home with me and this got RAVE reviews at the Killion home.  It was Thanksgiving supper in a bowl!  Ideally, I would've plated a pretty bowl of this for a final picture, but when it was time to eat the thought of pausing for a photo never entered my mind.  Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! 

Her amazing crockpot is sitting next to me all cleaned up and ready to go home.  I considered staging a burglary in which the robbers would've taken this beautiful piece of cookware, but I know it's not Christian.  I'm a Christian (despite my past road-raging, bird-flipping tendencies).  I'll just be a good girl until Christmas rolls around afterwhich I may resume my road-raging, bird-flipping tendencies.  Or just politely honk for 32 seconds.  Polite is Christian.

Recipe Numero Dos

Sloppy Sloppy Joes

4 lbs. lean ground beef, browned and drained
1 cup chopped onion sauteed with the meat
1 28 oz. can of tomato sauce
2 cans of tomato soup
1 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup of ketchup
3 Tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp prepared mustard
1 Tbsp dry mustard
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder

brown your meat, drain it and put it in the crockpot

dump everything else in...

 

Mix everything together and cook on low 4 to 6 hours.

I didn't get to personally sample this, but she assured me it's a family favorite and it smelled divine.   I'm sure you could half this recipe as it makes a lot. 

Now, everybody, hail to the Queen.
The Crockpot Queen.

Thank you, Shanna!

At Home: A giveaway

I'm a candle girl.  I love candles.  I love a specific brand of candles and a specific scent.  But, I go through one large one a month which puts me out about 35 bucks a month.  That's almost as much as what I pay for my phone bill.  It's not right.

Despite the economy, now is not the time to give up on my candle-burning ways.  I now have a daughter who lives in diapers.  And so my candle-burning ways have only worsened and I fight the urge to burn a candle in the culprit room.  But, as luck would have it I stumbled upon the perfect solution to my money and poop woes all in one.  SCENTSY.  It is brilliant.  Why didn't I think of that?  I could be sunbathing on the beaches of Hawaii permanently drawing a paycheck....sans cover up.

It's simple and so much more economical than the regular wick-burning candles.  You purchase a warmer for around 30 bucks and you purchase Scentsy bars for about 5 dollars each.  I purchased 2 bars when I bought my warmer and in 3 weeks I've not used half of one bar and I use my  warmer almost daily for several hours.  It is soooo much cheaper than the candles I've been buying and there are TONS of scents to choose from.  If you get tired of one scent and want to switch to another you just pour the melted wax back into the bar holder.  It hardens and you reuse it later and simply place the new scent in the warmer.  Once you have your warmer, you only have to purchase the bars!

This is all good and dandy but for me, the biggest selling point is that there is no flame involved.  The wax melts with the heat from a light bulb that is included with your warmer.  I can leave the house for hours and leave the warmer on.  One square from the bar will smell up my entire house in a hurry.  I will soon be purchasing an additional warmer to keep  in Natalie's room and I won't have to worry about a flame or forgetting to blow it out. 

Isn't that AWESOME?!

I'm not in the business of advertising.  In fact, I don't advertise.  BUT, I do love to pass along my fab finds.  And this was just too good.

So, here's what we've got for you....

I contacted a local consultant, Amy, and purchased a warmer from her.  After trying it out and loving it, I went back to Amy and asked if she would consider donating something for a blog reader.

She's so awesome, that she is donating the following warmer and 3 bars to a blog reader (Almost $50 in merchandise).  If you win, you just have to come pick it up.  So, to enter the drawing leave a comment and tell us your favorite candle scent.  Easy.

Here's a picture of the warmer she's donating

If you're interested in trying one out even if you don't win, send me an email and I can give you the name and email of the uber-sweet consultant that sold me my first Scentsy warmer she has a case full of scents if you want to smell them in person.  My personal favorite is the Pineapple Paradise (even though I'm typically a Sugar Cookie girl).

Comments will be accepted until Monday 10 a.m. Crosby Standard Time and I'll post the winner at noon the same day.

Good luck!

Dreamin' of Strawberries and Summertime

My husband grew up on homemade icecream.  His mom must have been a happy homemaker.  I grew up on the grocery store variety, but I forgive my mother seeing as she saw to it that there were homemade flour tortillas on a regular basis in our home.  It's an even trade in my book.   But, in typical American Dream fashion I want my children to have it all.  So, I bought an icecream maker and pulled out this recipe by Sylvia Glover for homemade strawberry icecream from the Real Men Burn Meat Cookbook.

2 pkgs. of frozen strawberries
2 cans of Eagle Brand Condensed Milk
Strawberry Soda (enough to fill your ice cream container)

Mix the first two things and put them in the ice cream freezer.  Add enough soda to fill the container and freeze per your machine's instructions.

I halved the recipe and it was plenty.

What more could they want in life?

Check back tomorrow for a fun 'At Home.'

P.S.  I will happily accept your icecream recipes so I can show-off my new talent to my kin-folk.

At Home: Hawaiian Wedding Cake

Are you there?  Are you dancing a little jig to celebrate the end of the week?  If you are, you're in good company.

If you're a cake purist and scoff at the idea of fruit and cake in one, then you might consider skipping today's post. You've been warned.

Ingredients:
Strawberries
1/2 a bag or so of chocolate chips
1 Tbsp of vegetable oil
1 box of yellow cake mix (you'll need the ingredients to prepare the cake per the box's instructions)
1 large can of crushed pineapple
1/4 cup of sugar
1 box of vanilla instant pudding
1 tub of thawed out Cool Whip
Small bag of sliced almonds (optional)

Before starting, preheat your oven to the temperature recommended on your cake box.

The chocolate-dipped strawberries are definitely optional and I use them more for garnish so it's up to you whether you want to go through the trouble of making them.  If you do, here's how I do.  If you don't like the way I do, then you do what you do.

Pour your chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl and pour the Tbsp. of oil in, too.

Microwave in 30 second intervals until it's shiny and melty.

Dip your strawberries and lay them on a wax-lined sheet pan.  I use a pan narrow enough to fit into the freezer.

Let them sit in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes to quick-set.

Onto the cake...

I love this little trick and I'll explain why you should do it later on in the recipe.

Line a 9x13 pan with foil and spray with Pam.

Prepare your cake mix according to the box's instructions.

Pour the batter into your foil-lined cake pan and bake according to the instructions.

While the cake is baking, grab a saucepan and pour in the pineapple and sugar and turn on the heat to medium.  Mix in the sugar and bring up to a simmer for a minute or two and remove it from the heat.

When your cake is finished baking you will need to poke big holes in the cake.  I use the back of a wooden spoon to get larger holes. 

Pour the pineapple juice over all of the holes and then spread the pineapple over the top.

VERY IMPORTANT:  The cake and pineapple must cool completely before finishing off the cake.  In a hurry, I did not wait today and melted everything that I put on top of the pineapple.  I managed to salvage a piece for the photo, but the rest of the cake is kind of a cakey, pineappley, cool whippy swamp.  It ain't purty, but it still eats good.

While your cake is cooling, you can toast your almonds in a 350 degree over for 5 to 10 minutes.  This is not necessary, but it sure sounds fancy when you say you toasted some nuts.  Or maybe it sounds crass?

You'll want these to cool, too.

Now, if your cake is completely and utterly cooled down you may proceed.

Prepare your pudding per the box's instructions and layer this on top of the pineapple.

Next you'll spread the Cool Whip or "Whipped Topping" (if you buy the WalMart brand for 25 cents less) on top.

Now, remember that trick?  I do this for brownies, too, and it works like a charm.

Gently grab the foil on the ends and swiftly, but gently lift the layered cake out of the pan for easy, easy slicing. 

I have served this cake at a shower presliced and garnished on a tray.  I typically put the strawberry on top, but considering the fact that the Cool Whip was beginning to melt, I decided not to mess with it and just put the strawberry on the side.  Garnish with the toasted almonds and the strawberry and it's the perfect Spring/Summer dessert!

Happy Eatings!

At Home with Jennifer

Jennifer and I have been best friends for a looooooong time. 

Oh, the stories. 
Oh, the memories. 
Oh, the sisterhood.

She is a true friend, a loyal wife, and the kind of mom that lets her kids jump into puddles for the sake of creating memories.  And if we're being honest here, she's the girl you love to hate for being so smart and so pretty and so dang nice.   

That's my Jen.  She's my Friend Lisa.

My Jen graciously agreed to cook for us.

Quickie Italian Wedding Soup

1 medium onion chopped
2 celery ribs chopped
10 or so baby carrots cut into thirds
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans of chicken broth
1 tsp. of Italian Seasoning
2 cups of water
1 1lb. package of frozen meatballs
1 15 oz can of white beans
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 large egg
3 Tbs. of shredded parmesan cheese

(Not pictured are the parmesan cheese and spinach.  They were too cool to participate in the group photo)

In a Dutch oven or Soup pot, heat up some olive oil and add all of your chopped items including the garlic.  Cook until the onion is clear.  If you have a husband like mine, cook the onion down until it has melted away like the wicked witch.  He's no onion fan.

Next, add the Italian Seasoning, the water, the chicken broth, and the frozen spinach.  Bring to a boil.

Looks good, huh?  Oh, just hold your horses.

Add the meatballs and bring the soup back up to a boil.

Add the can of beans with the liquid and reduce the heat to medium, maintaining a slow boil, and cook until the meatballs are heated through.  About 5 minutes or so.

See?  Better.  I told you so.

Here's the really cool part of the recipe.  It's so Giada De Laurentiis.

In a small bowl, combine the parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and egg.

swish...

When your meatballs have heated through, reduce the heat to low and slowly, sloooooowly stream in the egg mixture while you continue to stir the soup with your free hand.  It's tricky, but impressive.  You don't want the egg to curdle in the pot so you may have to wait a bit for your soup to cool down some.

What you'll get is a creamier, thicker broth.

And a soup is no soup without bread....the cheesy kind of bread.

Slice and butter a french loaf.

Sprinkle with cheese
and broil on high for 2 minutes.  Keep an eye on the bread so it doesn't burn.


And your soup is served.



Here's the condensed recipe for cutting, pasting, and printing.

Quickie Italian Wedding Soup

1 medium onion chopped
2 celery ribs chopped
10 or so baby carrots cut into thirds
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans of chicken broth
1 tsp. of Italian Seasoning
2 cups of water
1 1lb. package of frozen meatballs
1 15 oz can of white beans
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 large egg
3 Tbs. of shredded parmesan cheese

In a Dutch oven or Soup pot, heat up some olive oil and add all of your chopped items including the garlic.  Cook until the onion is clear.

Next, add the Italian Seasoning, the water, the chicken broth, and the frozen spinach.  Bring to a boil.  Add the meatballs and bring the soup back up to a boil. Add the can of beans with the liquid and reduce the heat to medium, maintaining a slow boil, and cook until the meatballs are heated through.  About 5 minutes or so.  Reduce heat for the following step:

In a small bowl, combine the parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and egg.  Whisk together.  Slowly stream in the egg mixture while stirring the soup with your fee hand until it is thoroughly incorporated.  Remove from heat and serve.